facebook.com/Serhiy Bilan
A massive law enforcement operation is underway at more than three dozen Ukrainian distilleries, suspected of manufacturing counterfeit alcohol, according to First Deputy Chairman of the State Fiscal Service of Ukraine Serhiy Bilan.
"Counterfeit alcohol is produced from unaccounted raw materials, sold for cash. The existence of such shadow market in the alcohol industry leads to billions [of hryvnias] in losses to the state budget, carrying serious risks to public health because of poor-quality products manufactured from such materials," Bilan wrote on Facebook.
Read alsoProsecutors raid Ukrenergo HQ as part of large-scale embezzlement caseSome 430 tax police officers under the supervision of the Ukrainian Prosecutor General's Office are involved in the operation, he added.
As UNIAN reported, the law enforcers earlier blocked $12 billion worth of property of former Minister of Income and Taxes Oleksandr Klymenko.